if your reading this you've either been tarred with the same dirty black stick as me or your considering investing money with Citibank.

My advice is stay well clear of Citibank and anything they offer you, including any investment account, or off shore savings account. I googled Citibank before I did put my saving with them and nothing much came up about them so hopefully someone is reading this that can benefit and we'll make the world a better place.

Here's my experience :

first off all I am just a working family man with no experience of stocks or investment banking. I am a fair open minded sort of a guy and never had big desires to buy stocks or no big ideas of investment. Just a normal steady guy.

I wish I could go back in time to a year ago, I would keep walking past the Citibank building and carry on living my life with no problems. ...

back in early 2008 had all my hard earned savings (HARD EARNED) in a Citibank savings account, just while I was figuring out what home to buy etc. around It was all I had.
A few weeks into having the funds in there I get a phone call from my account manager "russell Lumm". He began with the usual nice stuff, "good day " hows your life going" etc. He expressed a personal interest in me and asked me would I be interested in making some extra money. He told me I could get into investing. I told him 'no'
Its not my field, I have no knoledge of it.
over the coming weeks I got more phone calls from him .
He said he could give me a 150k USD value loan in Japanses yen which has a payback interest of 1% and buy USD or sterling with it and yield 5% interest back from the new currency which would pay the 1% loan and leave me a profit, whilst also doing currency switches from USD to Sterling to euro etc while all the time keeping a YEN loan interest rate. I was interested and wanted to learn more about this trading but I told him 'no' I wasn't ready for it.
Citibank kept calling me, they assured me it was a great investment.
He told me we could do a recorded verbal contract over the phone for the loan like the Forex trading guys do for live rates. I told him 'no'.
Over the weeks I got more calls and they kept giving me scenarios demonstrating how I could make money with the YEn loan.
10 more phone calls later from Citibank, and I told them not to do anything without my final consent which they agreed to.
1 week later I get a letter informing me I got $150000USD deposited in my account :0(
I called Citibank up straight away. I tried getting hold of that account manager but he was always too busy to take my call. Finally I got hold of some random accounts person who told me for Citibank to take the money back I will have to pay interest on it plus a penalty fee of $3500.U. S and they advised against it.
The loan money sat there for a couple of weeks while I tried to get hold of my accounts manager. I was so angry at them. I never consented to this loan. And anyway it certainly was not Japanese yen. And where they got 150000 U.S. from I have no idea. looking back they must have thought how much can we screw out of this guy...

A couple of weeks after the loan I get a call from Citibanks bobby Koh and he advised me everything was going well and he advised I invest the $150k USD in a Citibank investment product called a "premium account"
He explained the premium account runs for 4 week interval and time locks the funds in another currency, like a time lock savings account and earns high interest, then gives the return at the end of the 4 weeks.
I was really worried having this big loan sat there, I never had any loans, mortgages or credit cards in my life, and this Citibank representative seemed to know what he was talking about so I agreed. after all they are a bonofide company...? I gave consent to the verbal contract over the phone and we entered into the premium account. (this time I did actually give my consent -in the thought of damage control at this stage hoping things would get better)

4 weeks later I get another phone call from Citibank. Same guy. Bobby koh. He tells me I did well with this premium account, I covered the cost of my loan and made some money on the premium account. He recommended I do another one immediately to cover the costs on this loan. Of course I agreed. We did the verbal contract on the phone. This pattern went on for months and months. every conversation we had Citibank told me I was making money and the investment strategy was effective.
I kept reading my bank statements each month and although they were confusing and hard to read, they appeared to be making money in interest each month on the premium account. I trusted Citibanks good reputation and kept in good faith that they were looking after my best interests.

Anyway. after a while I started getting a bad feeling so I sat down for a whole day and went through all the statements and they were very deceptive and confusing to read. On one side they showed a profit from the investment returns. Then they showed a portfolio worth then at the end my savings account. The portfolio worth always showed good value. But then it turns out every month my savings account was getting eaten up. It turns out I was losing a steady 5 grand a month across the board on my savings account :0( I lost 30grand over 6 months.
This was coming out of my savings end of the account which was separate to the loan and investment product being eaten up with extortionate fees, and crazy interest rates. So on the one hand you got the premium account showing a tiny profit then whopping lumps coming out of the savings account for costs, loans, interest (US dollar based interest not yen I might add)
I called Citibank up, I got hold of my accounts manager and his first words were:
"don't worry everything is fine,!your account is fine, you've made a good return this month on your investment." -Can you believe these people?

I expressed my anger and asked what was he going to do about all this mess. his next words were "we recommend you reinvest in another investment product!" -Balls or what?

I terminated the loan with them, emptied my account of what little was left of my savings, and have since suffered a nervous breakdown. it has since changed my good faith outlook on the world and made me feel the world is full of sneaky, lying, Citibank people who pray on normal, trusting people like me. It makes me sad, (not for me) but for my children that they have to live in such a horrible world where corporate suits are screwing us left right and center on our savings, pensions, mortgages and any other way they can find to remove money from us.
My business confidence is gone. I now feel what's the point ?

I am now in legal proceedings with Citibank to try to recover my funds.

to anyone considering opening an account with them with them, - stay well clear and get on with your life -it will be much better if Citibank are not in it.

I check the site regularly. There is a notification of points "Expiring (within 90 days)". It has always been 0. Yet I am told by "Wanda" that, because I closed one (of my seven) credit card accounts with Citi (a Premier MasterCard, of which I already had one) and did not use the points within 30 days of closing, the points were confiscated and there is nothing I can do.

The Thank You points are more like f-you points. There are a depreciating currency (over time, the cash you can receive for them has declined ... it's now down to 1/2 cent per point). There is apparently some very fine print about their expiration (WITHOUT notifying you online), so what Citi giveth, it taketh away.

With the exception of gift cards (restricted currency), rewards on the Thank You redemption site are very expensive. Even deposits to one's account (a simple electronic transfer) are valued at 1/2 cent per point. Chase points are worth one cent. Bank of America points are worth one cent. HSBC points are worth one cent. Capital One points are worth one cent. Discover points are worth one cent. Only Citibank is so niggardly.

Further, my six remaining Citibank credit cards have some of the chinciest point rewards of all (1.2% for gas -- woo hoo! -- whereas my various other credit cards give 2%, 3%, 3.3%, 5%, and 5.1%). And these other cards reward one with cash back, not 1/2-cent points.

So for the 56,401 points they deducted, without notification, from my account, Citibank will be losing a long-time Gold customer, and gaining a noisy spokesperson against them. (I'm also a stockholder ... don't even ask me about what I think of their management.)

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Multiple Failed Transactions

Posted by Michael on 12/05/2012

Rating: 1/51

S HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY -- This is a copy of a complaint I posted to BBB website.

Problem
Nature of Complaint: Billing or Collection Issues - The company has failed to correct billing errors
Problem:
This is the second problem in a series of problems with the Citi Cards company 1) I made a payment to my Citi Cards account (x5472) via personal check in the amount of $5697.07. The account info was written correctly, and the check was in my name. I also called to follow-up & confirm that a check would be coming in the mail, and to deposit it to the correct account. The check was mailed on 9/28. On 10/2, the check cleared from my bank account and my bank account balance reflected the deduction of $5697.07 from the check that I had written. However, there was no payment reflected on x5472. Additionally, I continued to accrue interest in the amount of $58.63 for that month. I called the bank on 10/17 and they informed me that they misplaced the check. They asked I mail them the copy of the cleared check. I did so on 10/17. I followed-up on 10/22 and they representative had no clue of any check that was supposed to be deposited, had no clue of any pending payments, and no idea that any of this had transpired so far. I had to start from scratch. I spoke to an account supervisor that investigated and found that not only was the check misplaced, but so was the letter I sent them on 10/17. They said they found it in a stack of "lost items" - again everything was correctly labeled and clearly handwritten - Citi just simply lost it. The representative called me the following day asking me to fax them the copy of the check a third time, as they had lost it AGAIN. I faxed it and within the next 5 days, after daily phone calls, the credit was finally applied. 2) On a separate account (x 8238). A credit balance of $344.66 was present from 09/2012 - 12/2012. I requested a credit to my bank account on 11/21. No confirmation number was offered. By 12/5 he credit was not applied and I called Citi to check in and again they said the communication was "lost" and the transaction was "accidentally closed"

Desired Outcome
Desired Settlement: Change the Store Policy
Desired Outcome:
I saw failures on multiple levels during the first credit card issue with Citi Bank on account x5472. It was resolved only after daily aggressive phone calls. In both cases, Citi representatives admitted the error was on their end. Thousands of dollars were out of my possession for over 1 month and this would have been indefinite had I not called AGAIN AND AGAIN. The public must be made aware that the current business practice of the Citi Card corporation requires customers to call multiple times to ensure that requests are completed. This is inexcusable. The credit from x8238 is still pending. I still have no confirmation number. The complaint should remain open until I get the credit I submitted on 11/21. Somehow the public needs to be made aware of this business practice. Also, Citi should provide confirmation numbers to customers after ANY telephone transaction. Notations on customer accounts must also have confirmation numbers so they can be looked up quickly and not lost.

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The most absurd thing you've ever heard

Posted by rossignol on 03/04/2010

DALLAS, TEXAS -- In August 2009 an internet scammer cheated me out of $650 and sent me a box of worthless junk postmarked from a bogus return address. The scammer did not respond to any of my messages; therefore I could not get a refund, return or exchange.

In Oct 2009 I filed a case with Citibank's fraud protection division. They sent me a letter saying that a conditional refund of $650 would be credited to my account pending the investigation, stating that the investigation would take "NO LONGER THAN 90 DAYS".

I didn't hear from them for 4 months, so I assumed it was all over. Then suddenly, six months after I opened the case, my account was re-charged $650, and I got a letter from Citibank stating: "DUE TO THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT HAS PASSED, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO INTERVENE ON YOUR BEHALF."

So basically Citibank delayed the investigation for six months, then told me it's too late to investigate, so I lose. I've called them a dozen times and been told each time that they'll look into it, only to get the same form letter response about it being too late. This is utterly sickening, and I shall never again use Citibank services. Complaints to the Better Business Bureau have been submitted. I suggest you save yourselves, or if you've already been cheated like me, report them to the BBB at once.

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CitiMortgage can be sued in Small Claims Court

Posted by vincem on 11/04/2011

How to bring small claims actions against corporations.

With apparent impunity, many large corporations (including financial institutions, computer manufactures, and others) in recent years have blatantly defrauded and cheated consumers. Although not widely recognized, claims against these corporations can be expediently and inexpensively executed in local small claims courts.

I have successfully filed and prevailed in small claims against two corporations: (1) Hewlett-Packard, and (2) CitiMortgage. The Hewlett-Packard case involved a defective laptop computer and is reported in http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=29499. The essence of the CitiMortgage case (completed Oct 2011) was as follows: CitiMortgage (1) promised a refinance loan, but subsequently defaulted on delivering the loan, claiming that the promises of their sales agent were not binding, and (2) attempted to direct me to a more expensive loan using a bait-and-switch tactic. Repeated complaints to them of their illegal acts were to no avail. I filed a small claims action against them for the present value of the difference between the promised refinance loan and the original loan.

The process of filing a small claims court action is quite simple and is generally explained in consumer-friendly brochures that are available at your local court house. In California, small claims can be made for up to $7500. The claims process is as follows:
• First, make all reasonable attempts to resolve the matter with the defendant.
• If the above fails, send the defendant a written letter via certified, return receipt, mail making your demand for payment. State in the letter that should you not get a response within 7 days, you will file suit against them. Send the letter to the “Agent for Service of Process.” In order to do business in a state, a corporation must have on file with the secretary of state, the address to which legal notices must be sent. It is important to get this address. In California, it can be determined quickly from the secretary of state web site.
• Absent a response in the specified time, fill out a claim form (provided by your small claims office). Take the form to the court, pay the filing fee (about $50 in California, depending on the amount of your claim), and summit it. The court will provide a summons and schedule a hearing date. You will need to have the summons delivered to the Agent for Service. In California, this can be easily done by paying the court a fee of $10 to take care of the delivery. This fee and the filing fee are recovered when you Win the case.
• Appear on the day of the hearing prepared to present your case to the Judge.

A week or so before the scheduled hearing the defendant will probably contact you and try to reach a settlement. In the case of my above-mention suit against Hewlett-Packard, they quickly agreed to pay my requested damages without going to court. In the case of my suit against CitiMortgage, they called nearly every day and essentially tried to bluff me into giving up and accepting less that I requested. The day before the hearing, they offered to pay the full amount, but wanted me to agree that they were not at fault (making their payment a taxable income event to me). I refused this. We proceeded with the court hearing and the Judge ruled that they were at fault and must pay in full my requested amount.

Although in past decades Government consumer protection agencies looked after the little guy against the large corporations, today there is virtually no such protection. Fortunately, the small claims route offers a means of obtaining justice, for claims up to $7500 (in California). As a matter of principal, more consumers should exercise their rights using this vehicle to fend off the abusive behavior of corporations. Also, please note that the small claims process works for internet purchases and other transactions that a consumer executes from his/her home city. Assuming that the defended is registered to do business in the state, the local small claims court has jurisdiction.

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Disregard for Opt Out Law

Posted by Penni on 07/27/2013

Rating: 1/51

SIOUX, SOUTH DAKOTA -- I have chosen to use the opt out program that was created by Congress to allow citizens to opt out of receiving credit card offers and advertising.

Citibank has totally disregarded my wishes. I have called them to complain and still continued to receive their credit card offers. I have also written them twice asking them to recognize the law in place and quit sending me mail, but I still, as of today even, continue to get their offers. I have reported them to the Federal program that oversees opt out, but they still send me mail. No other bank or Insurance company that I opted out of has done this, they respected my wishes and the law and immediately quit sending me mail offers, except of course for Citibank. Citibank is arrogant and disrespectful and must think the law doesn't apply to them. I would never use their services in the future and I hope others won't either.

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Heartache and Heartbreak

Posted by George on 09/11/2012

Rating: 2/51

This open letter is in response to a letter received on September 8, 2012 but dated August 29,2012 from a Citibank VP. This is in regards to 2 accounts; Holds have been placed on the two accounts. I am a pensioner with social security these are guaranteed EFTs. Last month I
had surprise expenses and was receiving a wire transfer from an associate.
Somehow on August 24,2012 the wire transfer was blocked by the local branch.

As well my September 1st pension deposit which goes in every month on the first. My cosigner who currently is on medical bed rest called the bank and the other two parties to get to the bottom of the situation. The Branch representative stated that EFTs aren't guaranteed funds and but they would take a cash deposit from anybody who was acting as our agent since my cosigner could not leave her bed. So another person went to another branch (Relative lives out of state) Her
attempt to make deposit was not allowed and it was cash. Cosigner and I then called Citibank(3 way call) and were told no deposit could be made on the account until it was brought up to date. That was an interesting
phrase.
I then called my place of my former employment which I had retired
from which send me my monthly pension via EFT. After 3 days of investigation the money wired to my Citibank accounts which has been placed on hold is in limbo somehow. Monthly I get wired closed to 2000 dollars from my pension, as well as my associate who resides in Canada whose wire transfer was blocked which would more than cover the accidentally overdrawn funds.

I am now stuck in a country which no longer has a Citibank branch and have been trying to return home since September 2 since my cosigner has fallen ill. This situation goes beyond hardship. I am trying to make good with Citibank in regards to this oversight; but where are my funds since the parties that handle my pension and my associate's bank accounts who sent EFTs show a paper and electronic trails that stop at your bank branch? I am holding on to all correspondence in anticipation of the resolution of this misunderstanding

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Blindsided by Citibank’s “checkless checking account.”

Posted by texgirl on 04/26/2008

WEATHERFORD, TEXAS -- In March, my husband and I opened up a new Citibank Access Account. I had researched banks and accounts, and this one had free online bill pay and the per-check fee did not apply. It was perfect. The only drawback is that it said it did not come with paper checks. Well, that is no problem because I order mine online anyway.

I opened the account online and then the next day went to the bank and asked the branch manager to next day air the debit cards to me since I found out that I couldnât do any online bill pay without first registering my debit cards. During the process, I asked him for my new checking account and routing numbers so that I could order new checks. He gave it to me. The next week when I deposited, the teller asked me if she could order me any checks and I said no that I had already ordered them.

I proceeded to write a total of 8 checks in 1 month. Two weeks after I wrote the first 2 checks and I still didnât see them post online, so I called customer service. The rep said that they cleared and that I had nothing to worry about. I asked why I didnât see them on my online account, and she responded by saying that they have a new system that has some glitches. They are working on it and it should be fixed by tomorrow.

Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from the school district to which I had written 6 checks. It stated that they had been returned and that I would owe $25 per check in service fees and I was no longer allowed to write checks. I called customer service and was told by a RUDE rep that I had what she called a âcheckless checking account.â When I ordered this online, I never saw anything that would make me think I couldnât write checks. Apparently, instead of the account not coming with checks, you canât actually write checks on this account! How can you have a checking account without checks? Itâs an oxymoron! She said she could not fix it and was just so rude, so I demanded to speak with a manager. This did no good and he told me that they would not even talk to the merchants to explain how this happened for me. He said there is nothing he could do to help me.

In the morning, I went to our branch and spoke with the same manager who had given me the account and routing numbers. He said he remembered me and remembered giving that to me so I could order checks. I then told him that his teller had asked if she could order some checks for me when I was depositing. Then I told him what had happened and how I somehow have a checkless checking account. His response was that since I opened my account online he could not help me. I told him it was partially his fault since he gave me the information so I could order checks and they should be responsible for the fees. I told him that I am a bail bond agent and that I have to have a squeaky clean record in order to keep my job, and that in my county, checks automatically go to warrant. I told him I could lose my job for this and go to jail. He responded by saying that they have countless accounts at Citibank and that if he looked at everyone that came in, he would be here all day. He also said his tellers didnât know anything, they just make deposits. I started to cry and he just sat there staring at me and was expressionless. He wouldnât budge. When I started to leave, I saw that my husband was on his way in.

My husband came in and asked him to change this to a checking account that we can write checks on so that may be some of these will clear. He then told us that he couldnât do that because the new account will have a different checking account number on it.

This has been a nightmare so please beware, do not get an account with Citibank called Citibank Access Account if you are planning on writing checks. Better yet, just donât get a Citibank account at all! Their customer service is horrible! We have banked with Wells Fargo for almost 10 years now, and have never had any trouble at all with them. My account with Wells Fargo also does not come with paper checks, I have to buy them, and the per-check fee does not apply either....but I am aloud to write checks because itâs a CHECKING ACCOUNT! Thank God I didnât close out that account!

The only comforting news is that the owners of the bond company I work for have contacted the county judge (who they are friends with). In addition, my friend is friends with one of the Vice Presidents of Citibank, and she is calling on my behalf. My boss is a retired police officer whoâs father retired as county judge, so they know enough lawyers and people in power around this town to get something done. I am actually thinking about fighting this. I am going to go pay all the fines on Monday, but I think I should be reimbursed for it. Sometimes itâs not the money that matters, just the principal of it. Thank God we didnât write a lot of checks, because if we would have, this could have ruined us financially!

Oh, one more thing: About 2 weeks back I deposited about $300 in CASH about 4 pm on Friday. The receipt said the amount I deposited was âavailable today.â When I checked the account the next morning, it did not show up online. I called customer service and was told that anything I deposit, whether cash or check, when deposited after 3 PM on Friday will NOT be available until the following Tuesday! It took 5 days for my cash deposit to become available to me! That is just unacceptable!

It is my opinion that Citibank is a horrible bank and their customer service staff all should be retrained or replaced with more friendly customer service oriented employees.

(regards to the above named: our actual loan and loan servicing is through CitiFinancial, and formerly by associates, but citigroup trust bank is listed as the plaintiff in the default notices to us and the associates is listed as the plaintiff in all of the papers filed with the court).

My husband and I are about to lose our home because of a wrongful foreclosure action with our mortgage company CitiFinancial Mortgage formerly known as the Associates. We believe that this company is and has been using deceptive practices against us, which violate federal and state regulations that protect our consumer rights. We live in NY and originally took our home loan through The Associates in 1997 and then refinanced in Oct. 2000. Citifinancial took over our loan Nov, 2000. For some reason , they transferred are account out of the NY office to another state, then another and another. In fact, this has happened so many times in the past 5 years, I am not even sure what state our account is actually in now.

Beginning in May of 2004, we began having problems with C.F. repeatedly claiming that they were not receiving my payments, even though they cleared through my bank. I spent numerous hours on the phone with so many different collectors, each with conflicting information regarding our loan. I never got anywhere with anyone, even though I faxed copies of my canceled checks to them, many times, to many numbers, over and over. The more time I spent looking all the monthly statements, and loan agreement, the more I began to notice. I observed many discrepancies with interest rates, different account numbers, different amounts, credit report errors, and other conflicting documentation. As soon as I began asking questions and demanding answers from the company, the phone call from them stopped (when they were previously calling many times a day.

The next thing I know, there is a man sitting in his car, outside of our home. He told us that he was asked to do a drive-by appraisal of our home, but he could not remember by whom. (C.F. found out that we have approximately 75, 000 worth of equity on hour home). Ten days later our nightmare began. We received a notice of default, by the companyâs lawyer. We were given 30 days to bring account current, which involved an incorrect amount. They received the correct amount in the time set, which could be proven with proof of checks and postage. A short time later, we receive the first Summons and Verified Complaint against us, of course all with their information and claims inaccurate, requesting foreclosure on our home and all equity that is left over after principal amount.

. After we received the first summons and verified complaint filed against, we tried to deal with the company directly to explain their error and our proof of it. No one would listen to us or cooperate what so ever. In fact, those who we did talk to were very rude and even hung up on us as we tried to get an explanation of what was happening. After getting no whereby ourselves, we became unsure of what to do, so we decided to seek legal counseling. Basically, we had to pay a lawyer to show the same proof, which was the same proof, that we tried to show them many times. They were very anxious to cooperate as soon as they found out we had a lawyer. After things were agreed upon, we thought we could take over where our lawyer left off because we could no longer afford to pay him and no longer thought we needed him. As soon as the company learned this, their cooperation and willingness to work things out, disappeared. Even though they admitted their mistake, they withdrew their first foreclosure proceedings; we received the second notice of default, again with the same errors. Soon after, the second Summons and Notice of Complaint arrived at our doorstep. They did admit their errors and withdrew the first foreclosure proceedings.

My husband and I tried to answer the summons by ourselves, by sending a letter to the plaintiffs attorney and the court as instructed to in the summons. In the letter we stated that we disputed their complaint and alleged allegations made by them. A few days ago we received an "Order of Reference" made by the Judge of the NYS Supreme Court stating that they were in favor of the plaintiffs. We have the documentation and other forms of evidence to prove that this company once again made a mistake, as they did once before, but we are not being allowed to defend ourselves or be heard because we do not have a lawyer.

We could not afford to hire another lawyer to do same thing that had to be done last time, to straighten our their mistakes, nor did we feel we needed one because we knew we were right. I truly believed that at some point, this nightmare was going to end because the courts would eventually listen to our side of the story, before they would grant an order in favor of them. I was wrong. I have since, learned a hard, life lesson. That lesson is that the little people, like us, are not allowed to receive a chance for justice and will not be heard, unless thousands of dollars are spent on someone who will be heard for us.

My husband and I now realize that we need legal representation immediately or we are going to lose our home through the legal system. We are in the process of gathering money for a lawyer to try to stop this wrongful foreclosure, hoping and praying that it is not to late for us.

I have spent endless hours researching this company and. This company is notorious for their deceptive lending, servicing, and collection practices regarding home mortgages. I have learned that there are many federal and state regulators of consumer protection rights, whom are well aware of their practices and illegal tactics.

I am very confused, angry and sad that people like us, who do not have the money and/or resources to fight these corruptive companies, our losing everything we worked so hard for. Now that I am more familiar with the facts, I will not sit by any longer and not be heard by those who are liable to protect us. I am ready to fight and do whatever I can do, so that other families do not have to go through what we have. I will not allow this company to take away our home, the only home that my children have ever known, for their unjust actions and allegations.

We have worked so hard for what we have and it is not fair that we stand a chance to lose it. We were taken advantage of, as are many thousands of other families, by a very powerful and deceptive company who should not be allowed to be in business. I want answers on why this sort of thing is happening over and over again to honest and hardworking families all over our country. Itâs unfair, unjust and something has to be done and us little people are not going to be able to do it by ourselves. I have spent hundreds of hours learning about this company, and getting information that will help us in saving our home and making this company pay for the pain and suffering that they have caused my family and other innocent families. I am willing to spend hundreds of more hours if I can bring justice for myself and others in these same situations.

I am by no means looking for sympathy or handouts. I am simply looking for any resource, advice, or any other information that can help give us direction towards our goal of justice. Thank you for your time and consideration.

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Forced to Buy Insurance When Already Insured

Posted by forced to buy on 07/06/2010

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO -- Every year since CitiMortgage bought our mortgage on a second home, we have problems with their insurance department when they request proof of hazard and flood insurance. Each year we have Certificates of Insurance mailed and faxed to them. They claim they never receive the information and always purchase a policy, usually flood, for us. This year I personally mailed the Certificate to them and after checking with them they acknowledged receipt. Shortly afterward, we received a letter stating that they felt we were underinsured for flood, and suggested we contact the homeowners association and suggest we raise the amount of flood insurance carried on the building inwhich our condominium is located. We received this notification in previous years, and each year was advised by the agent who handles the policy that we carry the maximum allowed by the federal plan. This year, without prior warning, CitiMortgage purchased a supplemental flood policy covering our unit for $11,350, with a premium of $341.00. Trying to reason with them and get information was impossible as all they could do was read from a prepared script telling me they were sorry I was inconvenienced and upset. I was transferred from the insurance department to customer service and back. At that point I requested assistance from the insurance agent who informed me this was a common practice with CitiMortgage to force insurance and it was not legal or necessary. He did get them to cancel the policy, but now they are requesting a premium for the one month they feel we were underinsured even though no changes were made to the master policy. Watch out for them. This is common practice with them. They do make a commission on the sale as per our insurance agent. Check your escrow accounts for unauthorized purchases like this. We need a class action suit against them to stop this practice.